The Chief Medical Officer has issued a stern warning to the public this evening, warning "too many" people are still flouting Covid-19 regulations.
Dr Tony Holohan made the stinging comments this evening after 3,231 new cases were reported by the Department of Health – with 60 new deaths.
With figures still sky-high, Dr Holohan told the country that improvements in case numbers "are not happening fast enough", adding that a "significant percentage" of daily cases will lead directly to more deaths.
"This virus has taken root in every single part of the country," he said.
"A significant percentage of the population - in excess of 1 in 10 in some counties - is currently either a case or a close contact. This is a huge burden of infection."
The figures, released by the Department of Health this evening, bring to 169,780 the total number of cases recorded in Ireland since the pandemic began.
The total death toll from the virus now stands at 2,595, as fears grow of another variant that's now been identified in Brazil.
Dr Holohan's comments come after a leading HSE official warned that Covid-19 restrictions could be in place for another year as the vaccine is rolled out.
Dr Colm Henry, Chief Clinical Officer at the HSE, told Raidió na Gaeltachta that there could be another year of measures such as social distancing ahead before enough people had received the vaccine to protect the public from Covid-19.
He added: "In the meantime, it’s more important than ever to abide by the public health guidance so that we can stop the spread of the virus."
Dr Henry also addressed criticism of the "slow" rollout of the vaccine, saying that the health service was administering all the doses as soon as it receives them.
He continued: “We are distributing the vaccine as fast as it comes in - we are not withholding any but a small portion for the second vaccine, so the vaccine is going out as fast as it lands."
